


Feeling Tied Up

by orphan_account



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: F/M, Fem!Michael, I Don't Know Either, always-a-girl!Michael, possibly other stuff later, teen for cursing?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-25
Updated: 2013-04-10
Packaged: 2017-12-06 12:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/735559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Always-a-girl!Michael decides to change up her image, with aid of Barbara. Gavin has conflicting feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Who Are You, Really?" by Mikky Ekko

The thing about it is, that it isn't a thing. Or it shouldn't be a thing. It should be nothing. But it isn't.

Michelle is wearing lipstick.

And it isn't like Gavin didn't know Michelle was a girl. He is aware of the long hair and the soft curves and that sweet scent that seems to just infiltrate the air surrounding all girls ever.

But Michelle ties her hair back into unkempt ponytails, and wears baggy jeans, and t-shirts with obscure references printed on them. Michelle does not wear make up. Well. Gavin thought she didn't.

"Meesh," Gavin starts. His voice feels loud and awkward in the empty office.

"Yo," she replies from position huddled at her desk, legs up and crossed on her chair.

"Are you, uh. Are you wearing lipstick?" he asks innocently.

Her shoulders freeze in place, the rapid tapping at her keyboard stopping abruptly. After about twenty seconds of silence Gavin thinks perhaps he’s broken some sort of unspoken American etiquette about make-up.

“Are you?” he repeats, half because he senses it will annoy her, half because he’s genuinely curious. His imagination supplies an image of Michelle in tracksuit bottoms and an Achievement Hunter shirt, her eyebrows furrowed in frustration as she wanders around the local make-up store, fending off the overly helpful counter assistants with her glares.

“So what.”

“What?” He had been distracted thinking of the amazing 90’s makeover montage.

“So what if I am wearing lipstick?”

“Oh. Er, nothing. Just. Didn’t realise you were such a girl,” Gavin said, snickering.

Michelle was quiet.

“So did you like... buy it?”

“Um, Barbara gave it to me,” Michelle admitted, cheeks flushed.

Gavin had never thought about Michelle and Barbara being the same gender. They were barely the same species. “Oh, right.”

“Yeah.”

Gavin glanced back at his screen; his editing was still being rendered.

“She trying to turn us all into girls then? Ray better watch out.”

“In case you hadn’t noticed Gavin, I’m already a fucking girl.” Yeah, definitely annoying her.

“Seriously?” Gavin wasn’t able to resist. He never could. Mischief was his kryptonite.

“Don’t.” Her tone was just bordering menacing. Any further and Gavin knew he’d be facing the business end of a chokehold.

“I can’t believe this!” he proclaimed dramatically to the empty office. “I mean, I knew you had no balls, but this...” Michelle was icily silent. Gavin knew from the set of her jaw that her anger was just at tipping point. The way her eyes were burning a hole into her computer screen also kind of gave it away. “Well. This explains why you’re so bad at video games.”

There was no pause for Gavin to even grin before Michelle’s first word practically knocked him off his chair in surprise.

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? I AM A FUCKIN’ MILLION TIMES BETTER THAN YOU AT GAMING, YOU LITTLE SHIT-FUCK! I’M LITERALLY A PRO FUCKING GAMER AND YOU’RE GOING TO USE THE FACT THAT I’M WEARING SOME FUCKING LIPSTICK TODAY TO TRY AND DISPUTE A FUCKING UNDISPUTED FACT?!”

Gavin giggled to himself throughout her rant, enjoying watching her usually pale cheeks redden with anger, the hot flush migrating down her neck. When she turned to glare at him he wasn’t totally sure if he was imagining the flames dancing in her eyes or not. But her full attention did give Gavin a chance to examine her new appearance more thoroughly.

Michelle looked... different. The glossy pink shine of her new lipstick highlighted the full curve of her mouth, currently parted for her to pant angrily through after her sudden outburst. Gavin hadn’t really noticed her hair until now either. Usually pulled back or hidden underneath a beanie hat, today her bangs were wisping around her fury-filled eyes. The rest of her hair was swept into this half-up/half-down thing that Gavin couldn’t quite figure out, except for that some of it was spilling over her shoulder into soft-looking auburn curls.

Gavin’s mouth dropped open as he unabashedly stared at Michelle. “Did Barbara do something to you?”

“No! ... Yeah. Well like, sort of.”

“But- But you and Barbara have nothing in common!” Gavin stuttered. He didn’t quite understand his need to immediately oppose Michelle and Barbara’s newfound friendship, but something that felt a little like guilt and a lot like jealousy coiled tight in his stomach at the thought. Gavin had thought he and Michelle were best friends forever. Now suddenly even Barbara was more in touch with her than Gavin. He felt put out.

“Yeah we do!” Michelle protested. “We’re both girls, aren’t we?” Gavin took solace in the fact that Barbara probably didn’t know Michelle’s accent was more affected when she was angry. She wouldn’t like it as much as Gavin anyway. Canadians are too sensitive to appreciate the beauty of the New Jersey accent.

Geoff and Jack suddenly burst into the office, chattering unnecessarily loudly and laden with styrofoam cups. Michelle grabbed her coffee (black with no sugar - Gavin bet Barbara didn’t know that either) from the cardboard cupholder and resumed her work, huffing quietly but saying nothing else on the matter.

Gavin also resumed his position at his desk, but sat staring blankly at his screen until Geoff slapped him upside the head and told him to “do some fucking work, you dodo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is a thing. It's my first time writing RT RPF - my first time writing anything in over two years - so please allow for that! I know almost nothing of this fandom (I'm not even sure if this is the optimum place to post this?), but I love RT and was struck by inspiration amidst a mountain of study. This is the product of that. Constructive criticism completely welcome!
> 
> EDIT: I re-wrote. The characterisation is still weak, but I'm trying!


	2. Chapter 2

The weirdest thing about it for Gavin was that no one thought it was weird.

Not one person in the office had commented on Michelle’s appearance in the last few days other than Ray, who had complimented her new top and informed her that lavender is totally her colour.

Gavin had even confronted Barbara, whose eyes had glinted mischievously as she replied “Yeah, don’t you love her new look?”

Finally Friday afternoon brought the working week to a close, with Geoff informing everyone in the office that they would be attending drinks that evening to, and Gavin quotes, “get fucking fucked the fuck up”.

And that was how Gavin ended up drunk on a stool in some nameless club, frowning and sipping his “double vodka and something” angrily through three straws. He sat, shoulders hunched, and watched Michelle and Barbara at the bar across the room, smiling and laughing.

“Hey Gav, you wan’a bucket for that drool, buddy?” Geoff asked, much to the amusement of the other staff members close by. Kerry and Kara erupted into giggles, and Gavin frowned.

“Oh, shut up. Like none of you are surprised,” he shot back.

“He’s right,” Jack said. “It is a change.”

“Yeah, who knew Michelle had such a... uh...” Kerry trailed off as he caught Gavin’s expression.

Gavin glanced over again at the two girls, panicking when he couldn’t see them immediately. But they had just moved along the bar, Barbara resting back against it, Michelle standing up straight beside her.

They almost looked the same height, but Gavin knew it was because Michelle was wearing these tall black heels that Kara had lent her. He was positive Michelle didn’t own a pair herself.

But he had also thought Michelle didn’t own a dress, and yet she had arrived at the club with Barbara in a fitted panel-type thing that cut just above her knee. The dark petrol blue of the material somehow complemented her auburn hair perfectly where it fell against her chest.

All Gavin could focus on when she had walked in was the cream of her thigh where the dress stopped, just short enough to be revealing but just long enough to be teasing. Gavin had seen Michelle’s thighs before; at the pool, the beach, even in pyjama shorts. But he couldn’t concentrate enough to bring the memories back to him. Maybe it was because he had never wanted to see them in that way before. Er, not that he wanted to see them in that way now. Michelle was still his little Meesh; his best friend. It was all pretty mixed up.

“Yeah, she’s seriously hot,” Geoff agreed, bringing Gavin back to the conversation at hand. Seeing the disconcertion reflected in Gavin’s eyes, Geoff made a realisation. “Oh, this must be so confusing for you! Gavin’s brain is like totally malfunctioning right now. ‘Michelle is... a _GIRL_? My whole bloody life is a lie!’” Geoff even did the accent and everything. Gavin sunk further into his grump as everyone started laughing again.

He wanted Michelle over here with him as usual, telling him to “forget about it, man!” and pouring drinks into him and herself. Not over there with Barbara, whispering and giggling and keeping secrets from Gavin, the both of them smiling politely and shaking their heads whenever any dude approached them.

Gavin was about to give his attention back to his own group when he noticed one guy who seemed particularly persistent with Barbara. All of a sudden Gavin saw Michelle’s open left hand fly up to catch the guy in the chest as he leaned into Barbara. He could only see Michelle mouth the words but in his head he could hear her say “Hey buddy, the lady said no”.

The guy turned to look at Michelle, obscuring his face from Gavin’s vision. Gavin could only assume he said something she didn’t like, because all of a sudden the guy was staggering backward. Gavin knew from personal experience how surprisingly strong Michelle’s shoves were. The guy’s shoulders rolled and Gavin knew it was bad news. He stood up to dash to the bar but there were too many bodies in the way, and suddenly the three of them were out of his line of sight.

“Michelle! Michelle!” he shouted, trying to push the seemingly endless throng of people out of the way, but the club was too loud and crowded for him to have much effect. Abruptly he felt something thump his upper back, forcing itself past him. He quickly recognised the wide-set shoulders and black t-shirt fast pushing through the crowd as a bouncer, and by the time he saw Michelle next she was scowling, with one massive security guard hand engulfing her right shoulder. Gavin hurried to her side, dance music still blaring in the background of the sound of blood rushing through his ears. He could see the confused faces of the other staff members as he passed them, but just raised his hand in an “ok” signal as he felt Barbara touch his arm.

“Yeah, yeah, alright, I’m fucking going!” Michelle told the bouncer as they reached the steps outside the club.  “That asshole fucking started it by the way. And I’m fine, thanks for asking!”

The guy was already heading back through the doors as Gavin and Barbara rushed down the steps. Gavin could see Michelle’s hand cupping her cheek in the dim streetlight, immediately filling with anger at whatever dickhead would ever try and hurt her. But if the guy wasn’t out here hopefully it meant he was in some dark room where they taught guys who hit girls a lesson. Or maybe Gavin was confusing American movies with American real life again, he wasn’t completely sure.

“What the hell happened in there?” he demanded as Barbara dashed in front of Michelle, gently tugging the hand away from her face to assess the damage. Gavin was just impressed that Michelle still had her heels on.

“Nothing, Gavin, I handled it,” Michelle sighed, allowing her face to be pulled this way and that for Barbara to inspect it.

“Oh my gosh, did he hurt you? Are you okay?” Barbara questioned, fingers softly brushing the place she thought she had seen the guy’s fist connect with Michelle’s cheek bone.

Michelle sucked in a quick breath in response to the light touch on her tender skin. “Yeah, I’m fine, would you stop that? I just need an ice-pack or something on it.”

“That was so stupid, Meesh, you could have gotten hurt!” Gavin insisted, wincing at her hiss of pain.

“I can handle my own goddamn self, Gavin. That little fucker is sitting pretty somewhere with a broken nose anyway,” Michelle giggled darkly, glancing at the blood congealing on her fist. “I wish they hadn’t broken it up so quickly; I could have really taught that piece of shit a lesson in how to respect his fellow human being.”

“I can’t believe you just did that,” Barbara told her, more calm now in seeing that Michelle was relatively unharmed. Gavin almost thought she sounded awed. “I’ve never seen a fight in real life before, nevermind have someone start one to protect me.”

“Well, now you’ve seen both,” Michelle grinned back at her.

Gavin stood watching this conversation from the sidelines, dumbstruck. “Michelle was just punched in the face by some guy, and you two are _flirting_?” he asked incredulously. His raised voice alerted some strangers brushing past them to enter the club, one of whom stopped to glance between the trio before moving swiftly on after catching Michelle’s cold stare.

The two girls ignored Gavin. “Come on,” Barbara said, linking Michelle’s arm. “We can get a taxi back to yours, I’ll help fix you up.”

“ _What?_ What about me?” Gavin called as they headed for the nearest cab. He was meant to be hanging at Michelle’s tonight. They were going to play drunken Minecraft, and drunkenly watch some stupid comedy, and drunkenly go to sleep at a stupid drunken hour.

“You better stay in Geoff’s tonight, Gavin. We can do Super-Fun Nice Dynamite Night tomorrow,” came the reply as Michelle ducked her head into a taxi behind Barbara.

Once again Gavin was left completely perplexed. Michelle’s new appearance was apparently not caused by any sort of personality change, seeing as this is exactly the kind of antics she would have gotten herself into pre-makeup-and-dresses. And maybe it was just the way she stomped around in the heels she wasn’t used to, but Gavin couldn’t help feeling she was a little more vulnerable than before.

He stood at the end of the steps processing all this until once again Geoff brought him back to reality, Gavin happily relaying the situation to him in lieu of any more thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'd, another product of late night writing and study-craze. Thank you to all who kudos'd! I am unworthy.


End file.
